The RAF Presentation Team
Narration is an important part of A Musical Salute To The RAF Concert and we are delighted that the RAF Presentation Team have agreed to join us and help us explain what they do and how they do it.
Based at RAF High Wycombe the team tour the country to give inform people of what the RAF's role is in today's armed forces both overseas and at home.
The RAF Presentation Team is well-known throughout the United Kingdom as ambassadors for the Royal Air Force. They are one of the key components in the Chief of the Air Staff's Engagement Strategy. Since forming in 1978, the RAF Presentation Team has completed over 3,000 presentations throughout the UK.
The RAF Presentation Team's reputation is built on commitment and professionalism, combined with Royal Air Force skills, training and equipment. All of the Team's presenters have recently returned from operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and most will be sent again overseas following their time with the Presentation Team.
Those Appearing on Stage Will Be:
Flight Lieutenant Jim West
Jim joined the Royal Air Force in 2001 at the age of 19. After completing Initial Officer Training he held at RAF Goose Bay for 5 months, helping to oversee the daily aircraft movements and the UK Fast Jet exercises in the area.
On his return to the UK in 2002 he started Flying Training at RAF Church Fenton and then subsequently RAF Cranwell. This involved instruction on various aircraft types including the Firefly and Jet Stream. After graduating as a pilot in 2004 he was posted to fly the Nimrod MR2 aircraft and it is on the Nimrod where Jim spent the majority of his career. During the five years he served on the front line, almost a year of this was spent flying operational tours in Iraq or Afghanistan. He also flew many Search and Rescue and Anti-Submarine Warfare operational missions as well as working with the Army on Exercises in the Czech Republic and USA. His time on the Nimrod culminated in him achieving the position of aircraft captain.
When the Nimrod MR2 was decommissioned at the start of 2010 Jim was posted to 42(R) Sqn Operational Conversion Unit as a Simulator Instructor on the Nimrod MRA4. This involved working with partners in BAE Systems and other RAF units, writing and practising the Standard Operating Procedures that would ensure the new aircraft was flown as efficiently and safely as possible.
As part of RAF life Jim has taken part in various adventurous training expeditions of which the most memorable was completing his Freefall Skydiving 'A' license in California. Away from the RAF he has a keen interest in sport, specifically surfing and triathlons and in May last year he ran his first and almost certainly his last marathon. Jim, like two of his RAF Presentation Team colleagues, is also a Tottenham Hotspur fan.
Master Aircrew Gareth Attridge
Gareth joined the RAuxAF Regiment as a Gunner in 1988 before joining the regular Service in 1990 as Non-Commissioned Aircrew in the Air Loadmaster role. He went on to complete Operational Conversion Unit training on the C130 Hercules at RAF Lyneham where he was a Tactical Air Transport Loadmaster on 47 Sqn for seven years, before moving across to the Rotary Fleet.
After completing Rotary training at RAF Shawbury on the Griffin helicopter, Gareth was posted as a Support Helicopter Crewman to the Puma fleet where, in 1997 after a short spell with 33 Sqn, was posted to 230 Sqn in Northern Ireland. Four years later, he was selected to become a Qualified Helicopter Crewman Instructor (QHCI) and was then posted to No 3 Merlin course at RAF Benson.
In 2003 Gareth was promoted to Flight Sergeant and became an instructor on 28 Sqn Operational Conversion Flight. Three years later saw a move across to an operational flight and he became the Flight QHCI and a Joint Personnel Recovery specialist. In 2008 Gareth was posted to the newly reformed 78 Sqn, where he was promoted to Master Aircrew and became the 'A' Flight Master. His most recent post before joining the team was as the 78 Sqn Crewman Leader.
He is also a Survival, Evasion, Rescue & Extraction Officer qualified in environmental training in Desert, Arctic and Jungle survival.
During 20 years of service, Gareth has deployed all over the world and completed tours in Saudi Arabia, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, 8 operational tours of Iraq and recently he completed his second tour in Helmand Province, Afghanistan as part of 1419 (Merlin) Flight.
Gareth enjoys keeping fit and off-road motorbikes, which he has ridden as part of the RAF Enduro team in the past. He is also keen on photography and is an avid supporter of Tottenham Hotspur.
